Guardian
by Griffemy
Summary: Harry was just trying to survive another busy year in Uni., but no! When his brother starts at Hogwarts, the genius decides to uncover a conspiracy the size of Harry's headache right now. Well, time for big brother to figure out what this Philosopher Stone is, and why his baby brother is in the middle of it. AU OlderHarry OlderNeville
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **A/N: This is a modern Harry Potter AU story started out with a thought 'What would it be like if Voldemort hadn't rose to power until after Harry was already in school at Hogwarts.' So I took that thought and stretched it out into a remarkably detailed story and so many ideas were bouncing around my head that I decided to reward them by putting them on paper. Later I decided to post what I've written. And this is what you get. There are several thing you will notice that seem off. No worries, I'll post another note at the end of the chapter to answer any questions I believe should be answered rather than wait to find out in the story.**

 **Edit: I was not happy with how this story sounded so I went back and revamped it better in my opinion. Doesn't matter much I suppose seeing as how this story has- 2 followers? It might have changed since then I'm not sure.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing that shows within this story. Please support the official release.**

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"Honey please! Just for dinner, it will mean so much to your father if you could come by just for an hour or so."

"Mom," Harry sighed into his cell phone as he walked down the crowded street in downtown London, " I'm sorry, the workload has nearly doubled since last semester, and you know how busy last year was for me, and if I want to keep up with my grades I can't let even a second go to waste!" Harry heard his mother giggle from the other line.

"Sweetie, you've gotten straight O's in everything so far. I'm certain one hour won't kill you. It might even help. Your old mother was ranked first in the whole school back in Hogwarts you know!" She laughed lightly. Harry let out a slight huff. His mom did have a point. She wasn't known as one of the most intelligent women that he knew for nothing. "I've also been talking to Neville," Harry tensed up at the name of his best friend. What did Neville tell her? "And he said you haven't been taking care of yourself! Honestly Harry, you're not sleeping or eating properly! That's not healthy sweetie!"

'Of all the things to tell her! Jeez Nev! You are trying to get mom to kill me!' Harry silently cursed at his friend's inability to lie when it came to Harry's mom, Lily.

To be fair to Neville, his mother did have a very endearing personality. Add that to being a very beautiful woman, and her relatively small stature she was the epitome of loving, adorable mother; And it was more than slightly annoying that even Harry himself could not lie to her when she used her, as Neville affectionally called it, "Mothering Worried Eyes". However, no matter how annoyed Harry got with her for managing to pry the truth out of anything he did, Harry still loved her more than anybody in the world.

"Look Mom, I'm about to walk into the flat, I will let you know in an hour if I can. Is that fair?" Harry said, fumbling around for his keys, which was easier said then done with his phone in one hand and his laptop and books in the other.

"Of course honey! I will see you tonight at 8! Don't be late!" Lily chirped into the phone.

"No-Wait Mom! I didn't-" The click and subsequent dial tone spoke on the end of the conversation. Harry growled in annoyance before shoving his phone in his pocket. She had planned that. Now, there was no way out of it without getting a rather irate phone call from his father and texts from his brother saying that 'Mom's been crying all day, you need to talk to her!' and that was not a situation he felt like dealing with ever again. With his right hand free, it was remarkably easier to grab the right key and shove it into the lock of his apartment.

Opening the door, Harry was right away smacked in the face with the smell of food.

"Pizza? Again? Really Nev, you couldn't have thought of something a little more-oh I don't know- different?" Harry called to his roommate and best friend, Neville Longbottom.

Neville popped his head around the corner with a indignant look smeared on his face.

"It wasn't me this time, I swear! I tried telling Bill we had pizza last night but he wouldn't bloody listen!"

Neville had been his friend for as long as he could remember. Their mothers had been best friends in school, and while many of their friends had lost contact after school. Lily and Alice had stayed connected to the hip, as it were. So, it was only logical to assume that their sons, who had been born in the same month, (James and Frank were still adamant that the two mothers had schemed together. When asked, they would merely give a coy smile and proceed to change the subject.) would go on to become the greatest of friends. Brothers, even. Yes, Neville and Harry became quite inseparable over the years. However, the duo found a friend their very first day at Hogwarts that. Bill Weasley.

Bill was the eldest brother of the red headed Weasley clan. With no more than a "How do you do, I'm Bill!" he had inserted himself into Harry and Neville's friendship, and neither were quick to complain. They became such a close-nit group that they had all decided to attend the same university after Hogwarts.

Bill let out a bark of laughter from his place in their living room/kitchen.

"If I recall correctly Harry, just yesterday you had said the same thing, and lo and behold you ate it! It's a miracle in itself, I know, but believe it or not if you're hungry enough you will eat whatever is available."

"That's right I did eat yesterday didn't I?" Bill eyed Harry curiously and a little suspiciously, as he had just made his way into the room. It wasn't like the young wizard to forget what he had done the day before.

Scratch that. It wasn't like Harry to forget anything at all. The man was a walking textbook it seemed like.

So to hear Harry so casually announce that he had forgotten something was odd, and not the least bit curious.

"Yes you did?" Bill said eyes narrowed. 'Where's he going with this?'

"Hmm, yes I do remember eating, so it's rather curious how I get a phone call from my mother telling me that I haven't been 'eating or sleeping properly'. Care to tell me how she happened to come to that conclusion Neville?" He replied, shooting the last remark at his other mate.

"Can't say it rings a bell Harry!" Neville laughed out, quelling towards the end when he saw the murderous glare in Harry's eyes. "I might have said you weren't sleeping very well, but I promise you that was all! I didn't say anything about eating! Honest!" Harry's eyes softened slightly. He knew his mom-loved her- but he still wouldn't put it past the conniving witch to twist Neville's words to suit her own needs.

"Come now mate, you're mum's just worried for ya, yeah? She's always been like this. At least your mum isn't as bad as mine! Think of that!"

Harry let out a sigh, nodded to Bill's words, and proceeded to turn on his heel and head left into his room. The trio's flat was a modest three bedroom affair. As soon as one walked through the door there would be a hall spanning left and right. In the middle of said hall was two doors that housed the bathroom and a bedroom. Left would lead you to a moderately sized bedroom; While right would lead to a bedroom on one side of the hall and a door to the kitchen and sitting area. Nothing too special, unless one was to count the multiple 'odd' trinkets laying everywhere. These objects did things that would have engineers and physicians everywhere pulling there hair out attempting to describe what was happening. However, their investigation would turn out fruitless as the group of friends had a secret.

They were wizards.

Harry continued to backtrack through the flat to reach his bedroom where he laid his laptop bag on his desk and proceeded to flop down, none to gently, on his bed. It had been a very long day of classes and trekking through UCLM or University City London 'Magi'. Luckily, the weekend brought a much needed break from his 6:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m schedule. Harry swung his arm over to cover his forehead in a vain attempt to quell the growing headache that came from such a long and tiring day.

"Now, when did you want to start on that homework from Prof. Engles?" Bill asked from his spot leaning on Harry's doorframe.

"Which one the mock test? Or the essay?"

"Essay's," Bill was quick to correct him, " Five runes, four pages each, all due by this Monday. Shit, I thought Prof. Abul was messing with us last year, but if anything he downplayed Prof. Engles too much. The man's a bloody slave driver! And we've only had him for two weeks!"

"Brilliant." Harry let out a small defeated groan at the info, before sitting up in a more dignified manner. Raising his left arm to glance at his watch he uttered a curse.

'Shit, it's already 6 o'clock. I need to start getting ready so I can just leave here before 8 and not rush myself.' Harry thought with a grimace. Harry let out a shiver at the thought of what his mother would do should he show up late.

"Well, I need to go take a shower first, before we do anything. Went to the gym after classes and I can't imagine my body smells like sunshine and roses at the moment."

"I was gonna be a good friend and not say anything but..." Bill's voice drifted off to the end, wrinkling his nose. Harry rolled his eyes at his friend before shooting him a glare.

"What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be out snogging one of your 'girlfriends'.

"Why would I need to do that? I've got you two dunderheads for that!"

"No thanks." Harry stated blandly. Bill grinned before jumping on his friends bed and puckered his lips attempting to claim Harry's. "Bill get the bloody hell off me! Neville! Control your mutt!"

"Down boy, don't want to claim little Harrikens first kiss now do ya?" Neville spoke from the hall.

"Oi!" Harry sounded indignantly after pushing the redhead of his lap. "I've had loads of kisses!"

"Your mum doesn't count." Bill snorted derisively, "Though she would be quite the catch." He said looking thoughtful. Harry sent a dirty look at his mate for even thinking of such a scenario. "Oh don't get so miffed mate. I'm only taking the mickey on ya!" Bill exclaimed throwing his arm around Harry in an exaggerate manner.

"So, are you guy's working on homework tonight then?" Neville spoke to Harry, who was currently attempting to pry the energetic red head off of him.

"Yeah. Well, I've also got to be at my parent's house by 8 -thanks for that by the way- so I'll have to leave you here with this prat until I get back. How was your classes today?" Neville's eyes brightened has he went into a detailed explanation on his Muggle Herbology Study seminar.

"Oh! Prof. Sycamore even brought in a Datura and a Brugmansia for us to study." Neville said finishing his recounting of the class. Bill raised his head and eyebrows at Neville's statement.

"Wait. So you just sat there and took notes on a plant? Blimey, we're in the wrong class Harry!"

"No need to shout damnit, I'm right here." Harry snarked rubbing his ear to get rid of the ringing sensation. "And those plants are deadly, I'm good studying ancient runes."

"Tell me your taking the piss! Your fine studying runes that can make your insides be on your outside! But a plant. Oh no, that's where you draw line! Much to dangerous for ol' Harry."

"Professor Engles has never brought in a rune that can damn near take off a finger." Neville let out a nervous chuckle. Bill smirked, piecing what was going on.

"You're still upset that Neville's 'harmless plant' managed to ruin your date with Meredith Jones, aren't you?" Harry gave Bill a downright murderous glare. "Oh ho! Neville you dog! Tried to get a piece of that tight little blonde for yourself huh?" Bill let out a bellow of laughter while Neville's face tried it's best to turn as red as Bill's hair.

"They did start 'connecting' after what happened." Harry remarked sending a smirk towards Neville. Neville started to protest when Harry raised his hand, effectively cutting him off. "Relax Nev, if I had really been mad you would have known." Neville let out the breath he had been holding. Harry felt a stab of guilt hit him. "Besides, she wasn't my type."

"Oh Harrikens has a type? Is it your hand?" Bill smirked dodging Harry's half hearted swipe at his head. "Well, you did have quite the Oedipus complex growing up maybe you should be looking for a redhead." The next blow actually managed to get Harry's complete attention, and henceforth connected on the side of Bill's head. Bill scowled and looked up at Neville for some help. Neville meekly help up both hands in a show of 'You're on your own.'

"He's still mad at me for the whole snitching to his mum thing. I'm not getting involved."

"Smart."

"But don't you guys have homework to do? Don't you think you need him alive for that Harry."

"Not really."

"Oi! I'm right here!" Bill said, grasping his heart in mock pain.

"That's the problem, don't you guys have your own rooms?" Harry shooed them towards the door. Neville chuckled and grabbed Bill before making his way to the door.

Harry followed them down the hall, after grabbing fresh clothes, and proceeded into the bathroom. He paused, frowning and placed his clothes on the counter and headed towards Bill's room at the other end of the hall.

"Hey, grab your stuff, bring it to the living room, and get started on that mock test. I'll be out in fifteen minutes, I'll join you when I'm done." Harry said popping his head in to speak to his friend.

"Sure, I'll go ahead and do all the work, yeah?" Bill called to his friend over his shoulder. Harry's only response was a snort from down the hall as he had already made his way to the bathroom before Bill had turned.

Harry stripped naked and couldn't help but look himself over in the mirror. He looked good, at least better than he used to that for sure. When he was back in Hogwarts, Harry had been a scrawny little thing. While cute for some witches, others had wanted a man, or at least as much a man as one could get when they were all only for the aforementioned Ms. Jones, no witch ever came knocking on his parent's door, which had drawn the ire of his mother for some time ago. So, after some much needed persuasion from Bill and Lily, Harry started going to the gym with Bill at Hogwarts in the beginning of his 6th year.

And the changes were noticeable. Very Noticeable. After he started eating healthier and working out on a daily basis, Harry had started gaining muscle tone and getting bigger over his last two years. With the help of a late growth spurt, he was now standing at roughly 6'1 and weighed about 190 lbs. Added to the fact that Harry had inherited his mother's beautifully eyes and his dad's pitch black hair, and you had a lean, mean lady killing machine. In the looks department, at least. However, with Harry's intellect and general dislike of things that weren't Neville or Bill, many girls found themselves to intimidated and overwhelmed for more than a one night stand. While Harry was fine with a fling here or there, he wasn't Bill. Since coming to the University a little over a year ago, Harry had two hook ups. Neither went anywhere and that was fine with him. He wanted an equal. Someone who wouldn't just want him for his parent's money or his looks, and he would wait as long as it took to meet her.

Harry let out a sigh. 'It is a pain in the ass that Mum won't get off my back about it though.' With that last thought Harry drew back the curtain and started his shower.

* * *

Harry walked out of the steaming bathroom shirtless, and proceeded into the kitchen where he found Bill muttering curse words under his breath, Neville was looking at Bill in quiet bemusement from his spot on the couch. Harry raised an eyebrow in questioning at the scene and grab some orange juice out of the fridge.

"Hey, Harry?" Bill called from the couch.

"Yeah?"

"What's the application of the Dagaz rune in conjuction with a Fehu and Gebo Rune on a overlapping double triangle relay ward?"

"So, there's nothing else in the question but that? That's not much information. Does it say it say what the formula is?"

"Yeah, Dagaz is before the Gebo Rune, but after the Fehu. However, it also says that in between the Fehu and Dagaz is-"

"One of the points on the triangle? Yeah-wow that's some dark magic warding they are covering. The Fehu is easy, it's used to strengthen the ward's base. The other two get trickier. Gebo usually means the it's used to take away one's soul or magic depending on what you plan on setting as a sacrifice in return. If you want to drain someone's magic within the ward, your magic would henceforth be taken; Like wise with the soul. That kind of stuff." Harry paused a moment to take a drink from his glass of orange juice. Neville looked up from his book in intrigue at Harry's impromptu 'lesson'. " However, with Dagaz in front, it reverses the effects of the Gebo. So, instead of taking-"

"You'd be giving." Bill looked disturbed for a moment, seems his mind had finally caught up with what Harry was describing. "That's- Harry is this an Inferni Trap Ward!?" Harry raised his glass in a salute to Bill, most people wouldn't deduce the effects of giving your magic to someone.

"Bingo. I belive it's called the ομάδα-στόχος or Group Target ward. The Greeks were the first to use it in war and they weren't the last that's for sure. I'd imagine that if the Prof. had put more description into the ward you'd find four more runes and seven sacrificed lambs at each intersection within the triangles themselves. Oh, and crushed black rose petals at each point as well. The other more common runes to use are usually Laguz-Trick runes to pass the sacrifice unto one of the unlucky members of the target group Neville-, and the a fire spell triggered to go off when nothing 'living' was still in the circle to ensure no one or nothing in this case escaped afterwards. Very nasty stuff that, but it's definitely an ingenious design. Not something I'd enjoying going against." Bill ran a hand through his hair after Harry's explanation.

"Well, while I wasn't expecting such a terrifying answer for such a simple question, I do appreciate the help Harry."

Harry hummed his acknowledgment around his glass of juice. He glanced over at the oven clock and nodded to himself, before covering his lean muscle with a tight, dark grey polo.

"Alright mates, I'm gonna head over to my parent's. I'll be a little over an hour, hour and a half at the most."

"Yeah," Bill sighed, stood up and stretched his legs a little. He made his way over to Harry and bumped the offered fist from his friend. "I'll try to keep the house from burning down. Say hi to your family for me, will ya?"

"Right." He remarked dryly. With a look towards a smiling Neville to show he wanted him to look after Bill, Harry made his way to the door. Neville stood up and called to Harry.

"Hey, try not to piss your brother off, yeah? And say hi to Lily and Ash for me!"

"No promises and will do." With that final goodbye, Harry walked out the door, and proceeded to apparate to his parent's manor.

* * *

Harry stared up at the large, but comely home. The house was just the way he remembered. Except for the newly painted front door. It really had been to long since he'd been here. But that wasn't all his fault! His father had been rather adamant on Harry focusing on his studies and now James had completely switched his view on the whole situation. 'Though, Mom probably had a lot to do with that situation.' Which was almost always the truth, she could be rather scary when it came to her 'babies' even if the only baby of the house was his 9 year old sister, Ashley. He sighed and leisurely walked up to the door.

"Time to get this over with."

 **A/N: Alright, first off this section will be used to answer any reviewers questions for future chapters. However, due to the fact that I have no reviews I will go over the first chapter to alleviate any confusion. First, Harry and Neville are older, are they the only ones from there age group? No, but I won't say who. You will find out if not next chapter then the chapter after that. I'm sure you've noticed that, they are also going to a University for magic. This is where my imagination came in. It's already been established that the Prime Minister knows of the Magical Community so I could see there being (For the more prestigious and well-known Universities) another division of the school primarily used as a magically school. Diagon Ally is hidden by a wall. I'm sure you could manage to hide other classrooms. I don't see why wizards don't have some form of secondary education or maybe they do and it was never covered by J.K. Rowling. In any case, there is higher education requirements for certain jobs in this world, which we will be covering next chapter. That should about cover the basics right now. So, until next chapter friends.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any other piece of literature connected to said books. Please support the official release. Enjoy.**

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Harry gently rapt his knuckles on the front door, before turning his head to gaze over the quaint cottages dotting over the small town of Godric's Hollow. The village had a rather comely feel to it, with the homes of many witches and wizards circling around the town square, it was hard not to see how a family like the Potter's would choose to settle down out here in the west country of England. It was also not too difficult to see how a 17 year old straight out of Hogwarts would want to leave immediately after his schooling.

Godric's Hollow was a great community for nurturing a family, however it could be quite smothering to a young adult with the rest of the world in front of him. So, Harry had his things packed within the first month and moved into his own apartment his parents had offered to pay for him, as long as Harry focused on his schooling and got nothing less E's in all of his classes. Harry had, of course, got nothing less than O's in all of his classes striving to keep his parents happy, so as to not be confined in Godric's Hollow for the rest of his tenure at ACL. Harry did take small jobs from time to time as a way to earn some extra coins. However, anytime he brought this up to his folks, his mother would ask to see his grades on the net and would scoff and reply that it was a graduation present, therefore her 'Baby' doesn't need to worry about the finances.

The door hinges squeaked slightly as the passage was opened to show the countenance of his younger brother, Ingis.

"What?" His brother asked with a slight glare, though there was no malice to be found in his hazel eyes. Harry looked down at the black haired child, and rolled his eyes at the laughter that could be found deep within those glowering eyes.

"Yeah, love you too Iggy. Now, bloody move I'm hungry." Harry scoffed rubbing his hand on the ten year old's head, messing the boy's hair up even more than it already was. Ignis scowled at the gesture. Once again, no real offense was actually seen from the boy's eyes. Ignis had always been like that. Never really asking for any affection, and almost seeming offended by it, but the child lived for those small gestures from his older brother. As Harry walked past his brother, he let a ghost of a smile show on his face. Ignis was not him, but he certainly tried to be. It was slightly flattering, if not more than a little irritating. His mother had described it as adorable, the way that Iggy would start acting just like Harry himself had at ten. She had told him once that mimicry was the highest form of flattery, and that Ignis would start branching out to be his own man soon enough. The seed were already starting show of the blooming young mind. Harry scowled at the thought of his experiences in Hogwarts. Ignis couldn't be what Harry had been at Hogwarts simply because the boy was a social butterfly, whereas Harry had been a lonely wallflower and just allowing his two bestfriends to drag him to one party after another. If it had not been for Neville, or Bill, (Mostly Bill) he would have never made any friends or done any events outside of class.

Harry thought back on all those times that he had missed out on something due to him staying in the Ravenclaw common room, studying all of the time. Harry shook his head. No, his brother wouldn't turn out like that. He wouldn't allow it. There was a fine line between preparing for your future and being a social outcast. Harry scowled at the thought, which still sounded quite hypocritical of him. How could he judge Ignis' future when he himself was still learning on how to tiptoe around that line of being social and studying? But thinking back on his last few years of Hogwarts, his scowled softened. Neville and Bill had gone out of their way to make sure Harry understood that missing a study session every now and then, wouldn't be the end of the world. Even going so far as setting up a date with a cute blonde by the name of Meredith Jones! Harry faced gained a slight red hue when he started thinking back on that wonderful date with her. It had been a very enjoyable time. Dinner at Hogsmeade, a night time walk around the Black Lake, and to top the night off a chaste kiss on the cheek by young Ms. Jones. Yes, a very enjoyable night with hope for the future as well, it seemed.

'Until Nev asked me to come tend to his bloody plant while he went to his room to muck about for a few minutes.' Harry thought with a grimace thinking back to the plant in question. He had walked Meredith back to her common room, being a gentleman as per his mother's teachings. When he walked into the common room Harry was immediate accosted by Neville to watch over his special project from Prof. Sprout, while he went to go grab some special mixture of fertilizer for the plant. Harry had told his friend he'd be happy to, not letting Neville know he really wanted to keep talking to the blonde to Neville's right. Neville had bounded up the stairs. Spotting her chance, Meredith had dragged him down with her to the couch to talk by the plant, both assuming that there was nothing special that needed to be done, due to both students having dropped Herbology after their O.W.L year. They were wrong.

The plant, as Neville said later on, was a special type of Venus Fly Trap found deep within the Amazon. So, when Harry's finger had unluckily enough brushed against the fine hairs within the plant's mouth, it immediately shot out a pink goo attempting to stun it's 'prey' long enough to reach out and bite what it thought to be a rather large insect. Harry had needed to get his finger reattached that night, Meredith had needed to be taken to St. Mungos to get the toxin out of her eyes before she lost her vision completely, and Neville had his privileges of keeping rare, exotic plants in his dorms taken away by Professor Sprout. Oh, and effectively ruining Harry's chance at romance in his last year at Hogwarts to top it all off.

Shaking his head from the slightly sobering path his thoughts were taking him down, Harry turned his head to look over his shoulder at his brother who had started to follow him on his walk to the dining room.

"You get your letter yet?" It was a simple formality, of course. Harry had heard all about the letter from the way his mother had been blabbering all about it last week.

"Of course I did," Ignis sniffed, glancing up to his brother. "I'm gonna get better marks than you did!" He finished with a slightly smug smile. Harry turned his head back in front of him and let out a small chuckle.

"Good luck with that." Ignis once again scowled at his brother.

"Harry!" His sister, Cassandra, shrieked jumping into Harry with the force equivalent of a bludger hit a high speeds. Her red mane of hair spread out around her small frame, two shining emerald eyes gazed up at him from her spot in his chest. Harry chuckled down at his little sister causing the eight year old to giggle from the deep vibrations from his chest. If Ignis was a spitting image of their father, then Cassandra ("Call me Cassie!") Potter was definitely Lily's mini-me. Harry had gotten both parent's traits creating a beautiful blend that made it difficult to decipher who's genes were more dominant.

"Hey squirt, miss me?" He saw her hair start flailing frantically around as she nodded enthusiastically at his question.

"Uh huh! Mama told me you were coming today for dinner!" Cassie tightened her hold around her brother's waist. Harry felt the smile start breaking across his face as he gently placed her back onto the ground, Cassie still babbling on and on about her day at the house and how everything had been since he left. When she seemed to start simmering down a little bit, Harry smirked over towards his brother.

"That's how you welcome your loving brother home."

"Whatever."

"Meanie!" Cassie blew a raspberry over towards Ignis.

"Cassandra! Be nice to your brother!" A soft voice said indignantly, as their mother walked into the room holding a wooden spatula, pointing the 'weapon' threateningly at her youngest.

"Careful Cassie, Mum is not above using that spatula of hers." Harry said bopping his sister on the head with his knuckles. "It's best to do as the scary lady says, yeah?"

Cassie squeaked as her mother raised the stick. Lily giggled before walking over to her children, Cassie attempting to hide behind her brother much larger frame. Lily winked at Cassie before letting her eyes trail up to meet the mirrored eyes of her eldest and let a scowl mar her face.

"Ouch!"

"Stop scaring your sister!"

"Oi! Stop hitting me Mum!" Harry said bringing his head up to protect his face. Lily giggled and proceeded to jab at his stomach and sides. Cassie, catching her mother's infectious laugh, also started giggling merrily and joined in with her mother poking at his back when he doubled over from reflex.

"Oof! Ignis! You gonna help me here!?"

"No."  
"Prat. Ouch! Mum!"

"I can still bend you over my knee, young man. Don't use that kind of language in front of your sister." A deep chuckling could be heard from the kitchen causing every head to turn towards the entrance to the dining room.

"Oi! Get your wife old man!" Harry shouted at his father. James Potter walked through the door still smiling at the scene of his family.

"And turn her ire towards me? I don't think so. I dealt with it for many years before you did Harry. That's why I had kids! To channel her anger elsewhere!" He said letting out a bellow of laughter.

"Oh? So the truth comes out, then?" Harry smirked over to his dad. James let out one last little snicker before walking over to his son. He clasped his hand onto his eldest's shoulder.

"It's good to have you home, son."

"Yeah, it feels good to get away from the school work." Harry said, before looking over at his mom. "And don't say it." Lily held her hands up in surrender, smirk still planted on her lips from knowing she was right at forcing her son to come home for a little bit.

Harry looked over his whole family and let out a sigh of contentment. It was good to be home. It really was. He loved his family with all his heart.

"So Mum, what's for dinner?"

* * *

The family was sitting around the table after the meal, each enjoying a slice of treacle tart. A personal favorite of Harry's, however his mother's pastry surpassed any other tart he had ever tried. His own attempts to create the masterpiece was certainly some of the better ones out there, but they never even came close to his mother's cooking. Lily was adamant that it wasn't anything he was doing wrong, he simply didn't have a mother's love for her son being poured into every ingredient. Harry rolled his eyes as he went for another spoonful of the treat. Of course his mother always had to add sentiment into everything she did.

"Ignis. Cassie." James spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence that had befell the family. "Why don't you help your mum clean the kitchen?"

"But I want to stay with Harry!" Cassie whined crossing her arms over her chest. James smiled at his daughter's adorable attempt to rebel.

"You can after you help your mother." He said to appease the young girl.

"Ok!" Cassie said happy that she had gotten her way, not realizing that her father was the one who actually won the verbal match. James smiled as both his younger children were led away by their mother, and turned to Harry when they were out of sight. He signaled Harry to throw up a silencing ward. Harry raised his eyebrow, but did as his father had asked. Harry paused before setting the ward up, and looked upon his father's face. Seeing the serious nature in James' eyes, Harry nodded and stood from his chair.

"Sonus Converso." Harry raised his wand and wrote three runes within the air, before layering them with a flick of his wand and erected the ward around the table. Simultaneously, his mind projected an image of last weeks match at Puddlemere's Stadium, into the middle layers of the war. Seeing his father's bemusement, Harry explained. "Those runes cause any one who steps through the ward line to hear false information. It's basically a silencing ward overlayed with a confundus charm. It distorts the air around us to bend our words into sentences and phrases that reflect upon whatever topic of discussion I choose. To Mum and the others our conversation will appear to be about the match last week. Don't want those two chuckleheads mucking about in whatever you want to talk about, seeing as how you didn't want them apart of this conversation." James' eyes brightened considerably with pride for his son, and a smile graced his lips.

"You're work with wards is improving immensely, son. Your mother is gonna be so proud when I tell her about this." Harry nodded his thanks, and motioned for his father to continue while he reclaimed his seat at the table. James smile sinked off his face, as whatever he wanted to talk about came back to his mind. James sighed and took off his glasses; He started to rub his eyes.

"Albus is under the impression that Voldemort is trying to reclaim his place in this world." Harry's breathe got caught in his chest. All his thoughts within his mind froze. Harry slowly put his utensil down on his plate, all the while staring at his father's somber countenance, looking for any sign of James pulling a fast one on him. Seeing no such sign, Harry narrowed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him, resting his chin gently on his interlocked thumbs. His leg had started bouncing up a down, a clear sign of Harry's unease at this change in the atmosphere. "And if he is right, we are sure that he will be coming after Ignis." Harry's eyes snapped back towards his father's, his glasses serving as the only thing standing between the world, and the sheer cold fury that was ignited in his eyes from that one statement.

"He won't reach him alive." Harry stated, each word embedded with ice. James nodded in agreement with Harry's words.

"I'm of two worlds right now, Harry," His father started. "One side of me wants Ignis to not have to worry about the past, and to live his life in Hogwarts. The other side-"

"Wants to shelter him away from it all. I know Dad, I know. I had considered that option as well, but if Voldemort does come after my brother and I'm not there to protect him..." Harry let himself drift away at that, already seeing his dad nodding at his words.

"Exactly. I'd rather he knew a little bit about magic to defend himself, rather than have him sheltered all his life not being able to protect himself, let alone any kind of family he would have in the future. I know it was a fool's wish to hope that I could protect my family all by myself this time. But bugger it all if it's not tempting enough!"

"You weren't alone last time, and you won't be alone this time either. You had the Order and Mum. Now, you have myself, Bill, and Neville. That wanker won't get within a Quidditch pitch of my baby brother. That I can personally assure you." James gazed at his son with all the pride of a father seeing his son as a man for the first time. Slight laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen. Harry looked over at where he knew the rest of his family was and smiled. "He doesn't know what that feels like." Harry said gesturing to the door. "He will never know the strength that comes out of people when they have something precious to protect, and it will be his downfall."

His father stood and walked over to Harry. Harry, also raising from his own seat, was stunned when his father yanked him into a hug.

"We are so proud of you Harry. Never think you will ever let us down, because you have already given us the happiest hearts in the world." James said, pushing Harry back so he was holding him by his shoulders. Harry felt his eyes start stinging, as tears threatened to fall out.

"It's all in good parenting Dad." Harry said staring into James' hazel eyes. Harry suddenly pushed away and wiped his eyes. "Enough of this crying business. You think you can handle a race at your age, old man?" He smirked at his dad, canceling the ward in the process.

"Oh ho! I may be old, but with age comes wisdom and experience young buck!"

"And creaky joints. Don't think I didn't notice your bones popping when you stood up earlier. You need a walker yet?" Harry said poking at his father's knees with his wand.

"Har har, you're hilarious." James said, pulling his son in a headlock. Harry snickered as he slipped out of his fathers grip. "Hey! You lot fancy watching your old dad, and dashing husband of course, trounce your revered older brother?" James spoke as he popped his head within the kitchen.

"No way Papa! Harry will win!" Harry heard Cassie voice speak from inside. Harry chuckled as a red-headed bullet zipped over to his side. He rubbed on top of her head and let out a laugh at her pout.

"I've got an adoring fan Dad. What do you have?" Harry sent his father a smirk. James sent his own smirk before grabbing his wife around the waste.

"Why the sweet love of your mother of course!" James said planting kisses all over Lily's giggling face, finishing with a chaste kiss on her lips. Ignis grimaced at the scene and shuffled away from his parents.

"Eww Papa! Kisses are gross!" Cassie shrieked taking a hold of Harry's hand. Harry shot a look filled with mischief at his mother and father, and squatted down to Cassie's level.

"Oh, what about my kisses love?" Harry said before kissing her on her cheek. Cassie's face turned as red as her hair and with a squeak, ran outside towards the lawn. The whole family let out a laugh at the sight.

* * *

"Harry." James said as his eldest finished saying his goodbyes to his teary eyed sister. Harry glanced at his father and with one last kiss on his sister forehead, he rose up and walked up to his father. Clasping the offered hand, Harry was for the second time tonight dragged into his father's arms. "Don't forget what we talked about. It might not be today or tomorrow. Hell it could even be years from now, but Dumbledore believes he is coming, so that is good enough to warrant caution in my eyes." He spoke softly, so as to not raise suspicion with his younger children.

"I won't Dad." Harry let go of his father and gave his mother a hug.

"Don't be a stranger Harry." She admonished lightly before kissing his cheek and stepping away, watching the red start to settle in Harry's cheeks. Lily giggled at her flustered son, and stepped back to join her family in the foyer. Harry rolled his eyes at his mother with a smile, and glanced towards his brother. Ignis raised his hand to shake Harry's. Harry rose an eyebrow and with a chuckle grabbed his brother in a hug, a mirror image of what he and his father had just done.

"Take care of yourself Ignis. Hogwarts can be a very daunting place, but it'll be your home for the next seven years. Don't sweat getting lost in there, it will take a couple years to get used to the twists and turns." Harry said into Ignis' mane of hair. "And never forget to write. If you ever need help just send an owl and I'll do my best to help you. No matter what." Harry felt Ignis squeeze tighter around him. He had hit the nail on the head on that one. Ignis was scared to leave his home for Hogwarts. Harry pulled back and poked Ignis' chest, right where his heart laid beneath. "Home is where the heart is. Never forget brother." With a teary eyed nod from Ignis, Harry stepped away and waved to his family goodbye. He turned and started to walk out the door. As he opened the door, he turned at hearing his father calling out his name.

"Best prepare yourself son, there's a storm coming!" Despite James' jovial tune, he saw the gleaming look in James' eyes, signaling the double entendre.

"I will Dad. I'll see you lot later." Harry said as he walked out the door and apparated to a spot in a ally not far from his flat. As Harry started walked, he couldn't help but think towards the future and the words his father had left to him.

'Looks like we've got some work ahead of us. We're nowhere near ready for his return, but we will be. He won't lay a hand on any of their hands.' Harry thought, slowly trekking off into the dark, damp streets of London.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello, I have received a fair amount of views, review, follows, and favorites since we last talked.**

 **First, I would like to thank every one who has read that first chapter and took the time to write a review, favorited, followed, or even enjoyed reading the first chapter. I do not write for money, nor do I write because I'm bored. I write as a way to calm myself and to give people a little bit of joy in their lifes.**

 **Second I do apologize for any misuse of the British dialect in this story. I am American and therefore do not use some of the phrases in my daily life. I won't take it out of the story due to wanting to stay true to Harry Potter dialogue as much as I can. If you want to review and help me out on some of the dialect, then by all means do so. While we are on the topic of reviews, whatever comes to mind, do not hesitate to let me know about any sort of mistakes in the plot that you have seen (anything that contradicts itself) or the grammar. I am not perfect unfortunately. I try to give you guys my best effort with every chapter, but things do have a way of slipping through the cracks and there is nothing better than having multiple sets of eyes going over what I have written. I only ask that you remain respectful. You may not have asked me to write but I also didn't ask you to read. There are millions and millions of story's on here. If my story was unsatisfactory with your standards, tell me what was wrong and how you think I can change it. If it's still not up to your liking. Don't read it. I can't force you to read. It's that simple.**

 **Lastly, I will be attempting to post chapters before 7 a.m on Monday morning. If I do not post during that time do not expect a chapter until the following Monday. I am a full time worker as well as taking several online courses at college. Saturday is my day for HW and this. Typically I think of ideas while at work all week, proceed to integrate them into words on Saturday, proofread after church on Sundays and then make my final adjustments (Such as these notes) on early Monday morning before posting them. Might be TMI for many of you, but I do read fanfiction a lot. Therefore, I do know what it's like to wait day in and day out for that next chapter only to be disappointed. I am personally still waiting on those two new chapters of Yajuu Sannin. (Author is Shredjeep777 this person is an amazing author I cannot stress this enough. Deep story, amazing dialogue and superb action scenes. If you are a Naruto fan, I highly recommend this fic. One of the best out there IMO. You can find a link to his page in my favorite authors as well as a link to his story if I'm not mistaken.) Well guys, I'm gonna sign out of here. While typing about Yajuu Sannin I happened to catch a gander at the updated 2 hr ago mark and suffice to say I know what I will be doing the rest of the night. Sorry, for the long Author's note. I hope you enjoyed this and have a pleasant week. Remember to read and review, please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please enjoy the new chapter, I will be discussing why it's late and some other thing I find prudent at the moment. While reading this, please keep note that this chapter was very...difficult to write. A sudden sense of writer's block had hit me mid-chapter. So if some parts seemed dispassionate or just brings out a 'meh' from you. Don't feel bad it did the same thing to me. Without further dally here is Chapter 3.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the literature pieces attached to said idea. I make no profit from this story. Please support the official release.**

 **Chapter 3**

The sound of rain falling on his window sill, gently broke Morpheus' spell over Neville. Letting out a yawn, he rose and gave a stretch. He glanced at his alarm clock and stared at the bright blue number telling him it was just shy of three in the morning.

"Great." Neville grumbled out, knowing he wouldn't be able to just roll back over to sleep. Especially since the rain had started coming down even harder than before. Seemed he had been woken up just before the deluge could begin.

'Well I can get started on my preliminary notes for the Midnight Malaysian.' Neville thought with a grimace. Neville loved Herbology. He really did, but getting up at an ungodly hour to do so left him quite unamused. So, with a sigh of defeat, he got out of bed. Rummaging for a shirt and his books, Neville heard soft music coming from the living room. Looking quite perplexed, Neville popped his head out of his door.

"Harry?" Neville called, knowing that Bill would never get up this early. The sound of music stopped and Neville saw his best mate's black hair appear around the corner.

"Did I wake you? Sorry, that wasn't my intention." Neville let out a chuckle at his friend.

"No, the storm saw to it before you did."

"Yes. Father did mention a storm was coming last night." Harry hummed his acknowledgment. "Though he didn't mention that we'd be seeing downpour such as this." Neville retreated back into his room with a nod and proceeded to continue his quest for a shirt. Successfully retrieving the cloth, he threw it over his head and grabbed both his laptop and books. The soft padding across the carpet floor, and the gentle sounds of piano keys, let Neville know that his mate had returned to the living room. Neville quietly made his way down the hall, so as to not wake Bill, and settled himself on the dining room table. Having a kitchen and living room combined left very little for a dining area. However, seeing as how there was only three of them living in their flat, they could get away with a small table that sat four. Harry glanced over at Neville from his spot on the couch, laptop and a notebook set on the table in front of him.

"Want me to turn the music off?" He asked, his gaze returning to the lit screen in front of him. Neville shook his head and proceeded to start up the computer. He had just started researching the soils, and proper lighting, of his project for the semester before something crossed his mind that made Neville pause.

"What are still doing up? Did you even go to bed Harry?" Neville asked, rather interested in his mate's health at the moment. Harry didn't listen to music while he studied. 'Takes focus off of what's important. You need to clear your mind of distractions as much as you can.' he had once told Neville. Harry was the type of person that liked to have a clear picture of the world around him at all times. He had a one track mind when it came to studying, but Neville couldn't find a fault in Harry's system due to the overwhelming evidence of his grades. No, Harry didn't listen to music to help him focus, Harry listened to music when he didn't want to focus. When the world became too much for him to process that he needed to step away and recharge.

Harry's typing fingers faltered at Neville's question. Neville watched as Harry brought a shaking hand up to rub through his hair. His leg had started bouncing up and down. There was something bother Harry, and Neville would bet every knut he had to his name that he knew what it was.

"I believe Dumbledore, Harry." Harry eyes' sharply crossed the room to meet Neville's bold gaze. "But I'm not letting it get to me right now. I know that I don't have a family member in his target hairs, but you need to calm yourself. Aren't you the one who alway told me that panic clouds the mind's judgment and causes mistakes?" Harry let out a sigh of contempt at himself. This was not him. He didn't let some wanker with a inferiority complex get to him.

"By the gods, he's not even living right now and I can't keep it together! How am I going to face him when he walks the Earth?!" Harry suddenly shouted out, slamming his fists on the table.

"You're not." A voice spoke from the hallway. They both looked up and saw a shirtless Bill leaning on the doorway, arms crossed over his chiseled chest. "We're gonna face him. Together." He spoke out, unfolding his arms and walking into the room. "Because, let's be honest here Harry, the way you're acting right now?" Bill said, gesturing to Harry's frazzled frame. "Voldemort's gonna laugh at you and wipe you from this world with no more than a 'Goodbye.'" Bill finished.

Harry gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly, walking over to the window. Taking a few deep shaky breathes, Harry attempted to calm his racing heart.

"Harry?" Neville's soft voice raced across the room like a gunshot to Harry. Harry took another breathe, before turning around and saw both his mate's looking at him with confidence. "He's not here yet. If what the Headmaster says is true, we won't be facing him for quite awhile. At least, not at full strength."

"The Headmaster is making nothing but educated guesses." Harry scoffed, looking affronted at the suggestion. Both men laughed at their friend, knowing how much he abhorred not having facts to back any sort of claim. "If he knew for sure how Voldemort would be coming back, then we could better prepare ourselves - or better yet we could stop him from breather before he even does so. There is so much we still need to ask. How did he survive? Who is helping him? How many Death Eaters are still out there?"  
"So, the question now becomes, what do we do with such limited knowledge of our adversary?" Neville asked.

Harry snorted in derision, sounding disgusted at the thought.

"That's what has got your knickers in a twist? Seriously?" Bill asked. His eyes spoke of some great joke that Harry was not privy to. The fire in Harry's gaze would have had many running for the hills, but not Bill. He had been this dunderhead's friend since they were both ten; No look from Harry would faze him.

"Well Bill, since you seem to know what the answer to all of life's questions, why don't you bloody well tell me?" Harry's voice carried an icy wind over the living room to Bill, who let out a laugh.

"Let's answer your question with a question."

"Oh, brilliant. Everyone loves those kind of answers."

Bill continued on, ignoring Harry's sardonic comment.

"What do you do when you have to write a essay on a subject, when you are given a limited amount of knowledge?" Bill asked with a chuckle when he noticed a light go off in Harry's emerald eyes. Harry glared at Bill's smug face.

"Research."

"Ding ding! Give the man a prize." Harry sighed and gave a small sarcastic smile to Bill.

"I've been trying, but I haven't been able to find anything about his true name. Any inquiry I make for information on 'Voldemort' is a dead end. All roads I go down leads to the rise of his reign, but nothing before that. It's like he just popped up from thin air." Harry stated, looking quite flustered at not being able to solve this riddle. Neville's head shot up..

"School." Harry hummed as he signaled Neville to elaborate. Neville took a deep breathe before continuing. "Well, he obviously didn't pop out from the air. So, that means he had to have been born, and if he were to have been born I'd wager that he went to school for magic at one point. Find the school, find his name." Harry nodded at Neville's observation.

"Yes, I had thought of that, but unfortunately I can't just go asking for school records at the drop of a hat."

"They would think you're barking mad if you tell them you're looking for Voldemort." Bill commented as he started making his way to the kitchen to grab some water. "But you could pen Dumbledore. I'm not so certain that since Voldemort started his campaign in the British Isles he would've gone to Hogwarts, but it's worth a shot yeah?" Harry nodded heading back towards his spot on the couch, while Neville did the same with his previous seat. Harry started to grab a pen, but was stopped by Bill.

"Blimey! It's half past three Harry. Let the man get some sleep!" Bill admonished, shaking his head.

"You're correct. However, I had not planned on sending it now. I do have some common sense, you know." Harry smirked over to Neville. He quickly penned his inquiry to the Headmaster and went to set it upon his desk in his bedroom.

When he left, Bill whirled around to Neville.

"I've got a plan, Neville." He spoke softly to his other flatmate. "Harry is getting to worked up about this. He'll drive himself mad if he keeps this up-don't look at me like that you know I'm right. He's didn't sleep tonight Nev, and he'll continue like this until he's killed himself researching you know it's true."

Neville nodded with dismay. Harry would throw himself at his studies even more than he did now.

"And this plan requires you to convince him to go out tonight."

"Wait," Neville started looking affronted. "Why me?"

"Because if I ask him to, he won't go! You can always get him to go to a party!" Bill looked around to make sure Harry hadn't made his way back into the room. Neville mulled it over in his head.

"Alright." Neville nodded his consent. Bill started to celebrate quietly, not wanting Harry to hear him. "But!" Neville quickly started to shake Bill out of his victory. "We have to finish our homework. All of it. Otherwise, he'll never come out."

"Deal!" They both shook hands, just as Harry walked through the door. He eyed them warily. Deciding he didn't care enough to pursue whatever they had just done he glanced at the clock and stifled a yawn behind his hand.

"I'm going to bed. I had thoughts to just stay up, but I find myself rather tired." Harry stated letting out a chuckle as he did so. Turning around to make his way back to his room, he glanced back at his mates. "Thanks. I wasn't myself tonight."

"Ehh, don't mention it mate."

"Yeah, Harry, anytime."

"Night." Receiving two reply's of goodnight, Harry made his way to his bed and got undressed. Putting on some shorts, he crawled into bed and quickly found the sweet nectar of sleep's bliss.

* * *

Harry awoke to the sound of laughter coming from down the hall. He grabbed his wand and cast tempus. The spell revealed that it was just shy of ten o'clock in the morning.

"Damn." Harry grumbled. Not pleased to be awoken so late in the day, he jumped out of bed. He looked over at his desk and was not pleased to find his laptop missing. Thinking back on where it was, Harry growled as he realized he had left it in the living room not even seven hours earlier. Great, he had no plans of leaving his room today for anything less than the bathroom or food. Harry made his way to the door with a resigned sigh.

"Nev." Harry greeted not bothering to look in Neville's direction in the living.

"Morning Harry, I made tea. Help yours- Harry! Put a bloody shirt on! We have guests!" Neville choked out, a giggle and squeak accompanying his words. Harry turned his head around and was treated to a sight of two beauties sitting in his living room. The one sitting closest to Neville on the couch was a thin, blonde girl roughly the same age as both of them. Hannah Abbot if his memory recalled. She had been in their year back in Hogwarts, a Hufflepuff. Hannah had stayed mostly the same throughout the two years they had been away from Hogwarts. Though now she sported what Harry assumed to be her own wardrobe as opposed to the awfully drull and boring robes of a Hogwarts student. She was dressed rather nicely in Harry's opinion. With a nice blouse and some hip hugging jeans on, it certainly looked like Hannah was trying to catch someone's eye.

'Dress to impress.' Harry thought mentally smirking at Neville, who didn't look at all unhappy with having the cute, curvy blonde sitting so close to him.

'Then this must be Susan.'

Turning his head to gaze at the other girl sitting in the lone chair in the living room. Harry breathe caught in his throat as he regarded Susan Bones. Susan had been in the top ten of their class when they had graduated, seventh if he recalled correctly. Yes, Susan was as smart as she was beautiful in Harry's opinion. Whereas her friend was of the thinner sort, Susan was more of a softly built woman. With her dark red hair, bright blue eyes, and a hour glass figure, she was a vision of beauty to Harry's eyes.

'Dumbledore and I need to have a discussion on why those uniforms hide such grace.' Harry thought, gaping at the busty redhead. Like Hannah, (And everyone else who left Hogwarts) Susan had worn a more modern style of clothing. She had on a very tight fitting white t-shirt (Harry had paused on this area, much to his own dismay of not being able to control his hormones) and some jeans. While not as eye catching as her friend, Susan was still gorgeous, even in such simple attire.

When his gaze finally made their way back to her face, he noticed that she had a blush adorning her face. Harry recoiled finally realizing why her face was getting progressively darker. She had been looking at his naked chest and abdomen.

"Nev," Harry let out a growl. "Why am I just now finding out about our 'guests'?"

Neville gulped while looking at his friends visage.

"W-Well," he began,"I didn't think you'd be up quite yet, and Bill busy with his Eygptian Runes essay so I decided to invite them over." Harry sighed and shook his head before turning his head to the two women in his living room.

"I'll be right back." He quickly made his way to his room to grab a shirt. "We can properly introduce ourselves when I'm in the proper form of dress."

"Take your time," the blonde called out to Harry, "I think Susan is rather enjoying the eye candy!"

"Hannah!" Harry heard a squeak come from the living room followed by a round of laughter from the duo at Susan's expense. Harry let out a chuckle after shutting the door and grabbed a athletic sleeveless tee.

'This might just be an interesting day after all.' Harry thought grabbing his texts to join the trio in the living room. 'I might actually need some normalcy in my life after this morning.' With that thought Harry headed towards his flatmate and his two giggling companions.

Stepping out in the hallway, Harry saw Bill mirroring him from across the hall. Bill sent a small salute in Harry's direction and stepped into the living room area. Harry quickly followed, suddenly reminded of his hunt for the missing laptop. Though missing was an over exaggeration, seeing as how he had spotted it on the table closest to Susan. He froze upon entering.

Still sitting in her same spot on 'his' chair, was Susan, however, Harry was more focused on the object she was currently scrunching her eyebrows at in an, admittedly cute, confused fashion. His laptop. She had continued to read, ignorant of his gaze, before letting out a soft 'oh!'. With a triumph look, Susan went back to her own computer and proceeded to type with a swiftness only Harry could say he possesed.

"Can I help you?" Harry said indignantly at the invasion of his privacy. Susan's fingers came to a complete stop as her eyes met Harry's. One set was filled with embarrassing fright, like a child who had been caught doing something they shouldn't have. Neville quickly intervened before Harry's mood turned from annoyance to anger.

"She's majoring in enchanting, Harry. And for her semester project, her professor asked them to research and write a hypothesis on multi-faceted spells. Susan is convinced that spell weaving can be used on living things as well as, if not better than, inanimate objects. She had chosen plants has her base for now seeing them as slightly less complex than any other living thing that she knew of. Unfortunately, I could only tell her of the Herbology part of her hypothesis, but I remember you writing a complete essay on using flora and fauna instead of rune stones and the like to create a fully functional, self-sustaining ward. I believe that's why you went a spoke with Hagrid last year for, right?"

Harry was already nodding his head by the end of Neville's explanation. He already knew which essay he had been speaking of. The overall effect had been a slight failure, but the idea still had merit as the Proffessor had said after giving him an overall grade of O-.

"That experiment had been marked as a failure due to the fact that all fauna showed signs of deterioration by the end of the week, and all flora had died within the first couple of days. There was simply no way to account for the drainage of the magic used by the ward. I had to counter balance the effects with more runes then needed to create the ward in the first place." Harry said moving over to grab his laptop.

"The enchantment is weaved around the magical core of the plants and animals, intertwining them to create a network of shared magic, and that's what you need to siphon the magic off of. Creating a self-adjusting enchantment on the ward itself will also cause the magic to not take the same amount each time, but simply adjust to how much magic is available depending on who or what is in the vicinity of the epicenter." A soft voice sounded over Harry's, freezing him mid stride. Harry's eye brows rose in astonishment as Susan noticed the silence and raised her eyes from her screen to see everyone looking at her with surprise. Her face started to turn slowly turn the color of her hair seeing all the attention focused on her. Harry decided he quite liked the blush adjourning her cheeks.

"You would need to manually apply the enchantment on all who pass through the wards at that point." Harry shot back at Susan, attempting to see how far along in her thesis she was.

"Not if you know how to maneuver the runes around to apply the enchantment on those who do manage to pass through the wards." Susan spoke softly, not wanting Harry to think she was challenging him, but merely trying to get her point across.

"Which is why you needed my notes on Ancient Runes." He said glancing at the open page on his laptop.

"Yes."

Bill let out a laugh after a few seconds passed.

"Look at that Neville! We've got a female Harry! This one's right bit more attractive than the other one, let's keep her and kick Harry to the curb!" They all, sans Harry and Susan, starting laughing at the pair. Harry grumbled and walked over to the kitchen. He grabbed a cup of tea that Bill had just poured, ignoring his cry of indignation, and took a sip still eyeing the young redhead, mind racing a mile a minute. Susan had gone back to her work in the mean time while Hannah looked at her friend in pride. Neville let out a groan at the sight of Harry.

"Great. Way to go Susan. I was gonna try and get him to go out, and now you've given him a reason to stay in!" Harry remained silent even after hearing Bill sigh sufferably. Susan glanced up from her laptop, and systematically shut it knowing she wouldn't be getting much work done with everyone in the room. She hadn't been making much progress anyway, even with Harry's notes she only made a little leeway in the rune's department of her hypothesis.

"Oh! Were you guys planning on going to the party tonight?" Hannah asked excitedly at Neville. He nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yeah, Bill and I were planning on it, but parties aren't really Harry's thing." Hannah got a sudden gleam in her eyes.

"Well that's too bad. Susan was just looking for a date to said party and I was thinking Mr. Potter would be the perfect candidate!" She said smiling over at the still thoughtful Harry.

"Hannah!" Susan squeaked out, face crimson. "It's a college party, you don't need a date!"

"Well, I'm taking Neville!" Neville's face turned almost as red as Susan's.

"You are?" He asked shyly. Hannah beamed up at him.

"Of course I am! Pick me up at 8, ok?" She jumped up from her spot and poked at Harry's chest.

"And you! Susan will be ready by 8, as well!"

"Wait, what?" Harry asked snapping out of his 'trance'.

"8 o'clock! Don't forget!" With those words she ran and grabbed the blushing and protesting Susan by the hand and shuffled her out the door, leaving the room with three baffled gentlemen. Harry turned to his flatmates with a befuddled expression on his face.

"What the bloody hell just happened?"

* * *

 **A/N: There you have it. Two more character who I have decided to switch around their ages, and yes these are going to be the last two. Every one else will be staying the same. For now. I never know sometimes, I deleted and rewrote this chapter twenty different times before I decided on this one. So, it's all pretty much up in the air until I really start kicking the plot off. Alright well, first I have to apologize for how long this took. A lot of stuff popped into my life all at once, some good some bad, but you don't want to hear about just as much as I don't want to talk about it to be honest. I will be attempting to get back on my schedule the best I can within the month of March, but I am fair warning you. Mass Effect: Andromeda and Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 Remix are both coming out at the end of this month within a week of each other so don't expect much beginning of April. And this story exploded with reviews in February. One hundred eighty-one views in a single day. Not alot to some authors on here, but for me that's astonishing. Thanks to all those who read and I hope I lived up to your expectations this chapter.**

 **There has been no questions to be answered in the review section so logic states that I won't be answering any questions this chapter. If you do end up having a question, feel free to review and that's all for now. Look for the next chapter in one to two weeks time.**


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